Unlikely Father
by theplaywrite
Summary: Kalin never had a father. Rudger never had a son. One rubber ball could change all that. One-shot. Reviews more than welcomed.


Kalin stared at the blank ceiling of his room. The dark space was a way for the young man to get away from everything and not think for a little while. He stretched out his arms and sighed while running his tongue around his dry mouth.

"I need to get out of this forsaken place."

It had been almost a year since he became a dark signer and things were slowing down. Kalin had just finished building his runner and learned his new deck inside and out. The war between the signers and dark signers would not occur for another few years, so all that was left for the three dark signers staying in their lair to do was to wait for the next two dark signers to be chosen.

Kalin sifted around in his bed trying to find a comfortable position to lay in for awhile. Sometimes, he wished he could get out off this dull place which he now resided in and walk around the streets of Satellite once again. To think that the three people, once his closest friends, were moving on with their lives while he was trapped made Kalin feel like he was in jail again. One day he will get his revenge, in one way or another

And it started feeling like jail even more when Kalin began to experience strange feelings throughout his whole body. He walked into his bathroom and fell to his knees, his jaw and hands shaking. Kalin jabbed two fingers down his throat and began throwing up whatever was in his stomach. Dark signers weren't supposed to feel pain, but it became almost routine for Kalin to force himself to throw up after starting to while in prison. After turning down almost ever scrap of food and throwing up the rest, food didn't even concern him. Of course he kept it a secret and tried to dine it.

A few minutes passed by, feeling like hours. Kalin sat on the edge of his bed, holding his stomach. It was times like this when Kalin wished he had someone to talk to. Anyone.

Kalin fell back down on his bed and placed his hands behind his head. It wasn't making him feel any better. After giving up on his bed, Kalin made his way out of the room, not forgetting to grab his cloak and slipped it on him. The now black-eyed boy found himself walking to the meeting area of the lair. One table, five chairs, lit candles and one man were all that was present in the room at that moment in time. The man turned his face to Kalin's.

"What is it Kalin?"

Rudger talked with a deep voice, questioning the young man half his size.

"Is there anything else I need to do?"

Kalin answered with an unsure tone in his voice.

"Are you alright Kalin? You don't seem the same?"

Normally, Kalin would be more upbeat in a sense and have more energy. He seemed low and depressed to his leader.

"I'm fine."

Kalin said, trying to stand up for himself. He turned out the room and began to walk the halls of the abandoned place with no purpose, which was not like Kalin at all.

Rudger could sense that Kalin was becoming bored with his new living standards. Going from a life of energizing duels and chases with security was the complete opposite of what he was doing now. After all, they both were dead inside.

The man sitting at the head of the table had gotten an idea that wasn't new to him. Rudger sat there thinking it through. After an hour or so of just sitting in a barely lit room alone, Rudger got up and walked the halls. He ended up in front of a door he was only in front of once before, when the boy behind it first became a dark signer. He lifted his hand up to the door knob and pushed open the door slowly. As he peered inside, Rudger saw some papers on the floor, clothes on the only dresser, a bathroom door slightly opened, dust every where and Kalin laying on a bed that was made pretty nicely compared to the status of the rest of the room.

"Kalin?"

Rudger spoke softly this time, not to totally disturb the person inside.

Kalin sat up on the side of the bed, not wearing his normal clothes, but a pair of black sweat pants and a gray tee-shirt that were given to him with his other clothes when he first arrived.

"What is it?"

His voice sounded different from how Kalin normally was.

"I was wondering if you wanted to do something later tonight?"

"Tonight?"

Being almost completely under-ground, any one living there would lose track of time easily with no sun and one or two broken clocks the more likely giving the wrong time. That was one thing Kalin missed, knowing what time it was.

"Yes, I was wondering if you wanted to go take a walk to get out of this place for once?"

A walk did sound nice, but totally unexpected coming from Rudger.

"Why not?"

Kalin shrugged. He and Rudger left through the only accessible exit up into the real world. And the minute Kalin got up there was the minute it all came flooding back to him. The few clouds in the night sky let only a small amount of star light through. The cloud breeze pressed against both guys faces and semi-fresh air filled their lungs. Kalin almost forgot what it was like to be outside in the air after going from prison to the lair. The pair began their walk without a word through the most abandoned area of the Satellite. It was so close to feeling alive again.

Walking passed one block on the street, Rudger noticed something. He walked to the corner and knelt down. He picked up an old, worn-out rubber ball. Kalin noticed it and thought it was strange that he picked that object up. Rudger brought his arm up and tossed the ball in Kalin's direction. After one bounce, Kalin caught it. He stood there for a moment, than threw it back.

The game of catch that broke out between the two would look like a father and son to any bystander, even though it wasn't. Rudger forgot about his strength and threw the ball over Kalin's head and into a pile of trash. Kalin fell to his knees. Rudger walked over to see what was going on when he noticed Kalin was crying of all things.

"Kalin..."

"I never had a father. I never had parents. Fuck that, I never had a real family or friends."

Kalin covered his face with his hands. He never thought about not having parents before because he was so used to not having them. It was normal for him to forget that he even should have had parents Plus, with everything else that was going on in his life, those thoughts took a back seat. But playing with Rudger finally hit him that he was an orphan.

"No wonder I'm so screwed up. I have no fucking idea who my parents are. And the only people who I ever called my family are traitors."

Kalin needed a father more than ever.

"Listen, Kalin. I know what it's like to not have your parents. I lost mine when I was a kid and I can remember a lot of times when I knew I could have used a mother or father around."

Kalin had got closer to the ground as he cried even harder. It was every tear and feeling he was holding back since he was a kid.

"At least you knew your parents. At least you know they cared about you. What if I was never wanted? What if they hated that they had me? Right now I won't blame them. Who wants a son like me? A psycho freak."

Rudger knelt next to Kalin, who was trying to stop crying and build up anger, but couldn't. Oddly, Rudger put his arm around him.

"I know I may not seem like the fatherly type, but before I became a complete dark signer I was in love. I was in love for years with the girl of my dreams. Everything was perfect, until my job got in the way. I tried to make it up to her, but she left without a goodbye."

Kalin's crying softened and he listened closely even though it didn't seem like he was.

"I did get a letter from her though. She said she had a son. My son. I never met him before and I can't tell you how many times before when I would imagine watching him grow up. All I ever wanted was to be there for him, but I couldn't. I'm sure your parents loved you, no matter what. All parents have a connection to their child no matter what happens to them or their childern. Even though you haven't or might not ever know them, just know that you turned out fine. You're not a freak because you have mental problems."

"You know about that?"

"Seems pretty obvious to me."

Rudger stood up and Kalin followed. He wiped away the last tears he would have for awhile and sighed in acceptance.

"I'm sorry about your son and how you never got a chance to meet him."

"I'm sorry about you and your parents."

They stood there in the cold night until dawn was coming across the horizon. Kalin walked over and picked up the ball from the pile of trash. He held it out for Rudger to take and he did. The walk back to the lair was just the same as the walk away from it, only at a quicker pace. Once they got back inside, Kalin was about to walk back to his room, but was stopped by the ball bouncing to him. He caught it.

"If you ever need a father, just throw me the ball."

Kalin gripped the old, rubber ball and gave a smile so slight that if you blinked you would have missed it. Rudger saw it.

The dark man walked into his room and shut the door behind him. He walked over to the nightstand and picked up one of the two picture frames. He looked at it and smiled. Two old pictures were sealed inside. One with a strong looking young man and a small dark haired young women holding onto the man's right arm. In the other picture, a small, blonde baby boy, only a few days old. A name of the child written on the bottom right hand corner.

"You are safe with my brother son. My son, Jack Atlas."

Around two years later, Kalin needed a father or at least someone to talk to once again. He hadn't taken his medicines for his disorder or depression in two days and it was starting to take its toll on him.

Kalin drove our to a remote area outside of Crash Town to not think. Only if that one person knew Kalin needed anyone to talk some sense into him or just listen for once in his life. Kalin glanced his golden eyes over to his runner. He quickly got up and took something out of it. He laid down on his back a few yards away.

"They didn't fucking care. They never did. It just made them feel better about themselves. Their going on with their fucking lives without me again. Their so blind. I might as well just turn myself in. But those kids."

Kalin tossed the old, rubber ball up at the night sky, while trying once again to hold back emotions that were filling up inside of him. After one hard throw of anger, the ball went over Kalin's head bounced once and stopped. He sat up and turned around to see him.

"You threw the ball to me."


End file.
